[Gimp-developer] Gimp on a Commercial CD-Rom ?

[saulgoode at flashingtwelve.brickfilms.com]

Quoting Alpár Jüttner <alpar at cs.elte.hu>:

>> You don't need permission as long as you follow the rules of the
>> license. As Gimp is under the GPL the most important rule is to add the
>> source code on the CD too.
>
> By the way, isn't it enough to publish it on the net? E.g. one could
> provide a link to the gimp website for the original source, plus publish
> their modification on their own website (or include only these parts on
> the CD)?

No, it is not sufficient. There are some alternatives to including the  
source code on the CD, but the easiest solution is to just include the  
source code. By doing this, all obligations are fulfilled at the time  
the CD is distributed.

The source code for GIMP is about 15Mb which, while not insubstantial,  
should not be overly taxing on a 700Mb CD. If the distributor would  
rather, the source code could be provided on a second CD which is  
provided to the recipient in the same package.

If the source code is not included with the GIMP CD, the distributor  
is obligated to provide that source code for a period of three years  
following the distribution of the CD. The distributor may charge a  
nominal fee for processing such a request.

The Software Freedom Law Center has produced a nice guide for  
distributing GPL software which is available at:

   http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/compliance-guide.html